September Hill will reopen April 1

MONTOUR FALLS—Schuyler Hospital expects work on the September Hill Women’s Center to be complete by April 1, 2011.The officers were closed in November of last year for renovations. Matt Taylor, Schuyler Hospital director of facilities services, said the main component of the renovation is a 1,400 square foot addition onto the back of the building. This almost doubles the first floor’s size to 2,500 square feet.September Hill is located on Steuben Street, next to Schuyler Hospital overlooking Montour Falls and Seneca Lake in the distance. Taylor said the house was originally built in the 1960s and owned by a former hospital board member. He added the house was sold to Schuyler Hospital after the owner’s death.The building was initially called the September Hill Birth Center, the first freestanding rural birth center in New York state. It opened its doors in December 1993 as a direct response to community needs. The role of the Center was expanded to include all aspects of women’s preventative and curative medicine and was renamed September Hill Women’s Center in 2001, and birthing was moved to Stork’s Landing in the main hospital.“It’s better than a doctor’s office,” Taylor said about Women’s Center. “It’s homey.”However, some of the space does service as a doctor’s office. Taylor explained another doctor will be located at September Hill when renovations are complete. He said the building will offer a total of five rooms for patients, two doctor’s offices (Dr. William Saks and Dr. Zarmina Aman), a nurse’s station and a waiting room. During the work, the September Hill facilities are currently located at the Guthrie Building in Watkins Glen.Taylor said the 2009 and 2010 Schuyler Health Foundation’s Family of Friends Campaigns raised the money for the expansion. He explained in addition to consolidating the Women’s Center staff, the renovation also promotes women’s health.